Dear Short Answers: After my parents died a couple of years ago, none of my siblings really wanted to go through all of their possessions since it simply felt too sad. So we paid a mover to pack everything up and it now sits in a storage facility.

I am now feeling guilty about letting their personal possessions go to waste, and I certainly don’t want their stuff to get sold at some auction if we ever forget to pay the monthly fees. My siblings disagree and just want to forget about this. Would it be wrong for me to take it upon myself to clean out the storage locker, or do I need to get everybody’s permission to do this? — Ready Now

Dear Ready: You can volunteer to do an inventory as a first step — but this is likely to be a journey.

TO THE WATER COOLER CROWD: CHILL!

Dear Short Answers: A woman in my office announced (very proudly) that she was pregnant about 4 months ago. Since then, she has never mentioned it and she doesn’t appear to be a bit pregnant at all. Everyone is gossiping about whether she was ever actually pregnant or perhaps had a miscarriage or an abortion. Is it appropriate to ask her? Or should we all just pretend that she never said anything and we all just move on? — We are Wondering

Dear “We”: Get a life. The answer is obvious.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE QUESTIONS

Dear Short Answers: A very close friend of mine (with a lot of money) married a much younger woman about two years ago. Fortunately, he has a prenuptial agreement in place, but that becomes void after three years of marriage. I know for a fact that his wife is sneaking around behind his back and lying to him and just trying to hold out until the three-year mark arrives. I know that you always tell people to mind their own business when it comes to other people’s marriages. But don’t I owe it to my friend to let him know what’s going on? There is a lot of money at stake here. — A Bro

Dear Bro: The real question is, do you think he will listen? Is a full frontal assault likely to hit the mark? If you are in the mood, and have the time and energy and love, to keep asking questions that will make him see what’s going on, you will have performed a great service.

DICKENSIAN CHRISTMAS

Dear Short Answers: I run a small business with six employees. Business was not great this year and I’m pretty sure that I will need to lay off one employee. I think they all know this because it’s pretty obvious that we don’t have enough customers to keep everyone busy. Is it better to lay off this person before the holidays so that everybody else can relax? Or should I wait until January? — Wanna Be Fair

Dear Wanna: Wait ’til January.

PRETTY TO THINK SO

Dear Short Answers: Don’t you think thin people just have a faster metabolism than the rest of us? — Zoftig

Dear Z: Sorry darling, mostly thin people eat less and exercise more.

Life is complicated. “Short Answers” isn’t. Send a question about whatever is bothering you to reflector@shortanswers.net or go to www.shortanswers.net and a psychologist and sociologist will answer. A selection of the best questions will be printed every Sunday in The Daily Reflector.